L'Morte d'Slayer
by mistress mischief
Summary: part two of the beginning of the end


L'Morte de Slayer  
  
"Once upon a time, there was a maiden who lived in England in the days of Camelot when Arthur was still a young king. One day as she was working in the fields she discovered she was stronger than all the men. Fearing her strength, the maid kept her strength secret. When the king married Guinevere her family journeyed to London to join in the festivities. While she was there, the girl met an old man named Merlyn. He said she was a powerful girl called the Slayer, and it was her job to battle against the forces of darkness. She didn't believe him until that night when a vampire attacked her. She killed it, and Merlyn came out of the shadows to explain exactly what it meant to be a Slayer. From that day forward she lived in London, fighting evil by night with Merlyn as her watcher, even though the Watcher's Council didn't exist yet, and the Queen's handmaiden by day. Then one day a sorceress named Nimue trapped Merlyn in an oak. The Slayer was sad, but knew she could handle herself. She had been called at the age of twelve, and was now sixteen. Now, her sister had decided to live in London with her. She knew all about the Slayer, and swore to never tell anyone. One day the sister was abducted by an evil knight, taken to his castle, raped and killed." Genevieve's fingers tightened and Spike's whole body tensed. He'd heard the story before, but he had a reason to worry now. "The Slayer was distraught, and asked the knights to get vengeance. It was the knightly thing to do. But they were too busy with the Queen, or on some other quest to care about an unimportant maiden like my sister. A few swore to help, but they had a few other quests to get to first. Something about a Holy Grail, or dragon, or some such. So the Slayer sought out the evil knight and killed him. Then she realized what she'd done, that she was now no better than the demons she killed every night. She left Camelot, and with no shame left, hired herself out as a killer. She was a born killer, with many skills the knights didn't have. She did this for another year, before she met a vampire that called himself the Master. He was powerful, and the Slayer let him bite her. As she began to die, Merlyn appeared before her, dragging her away from the vampire. He explained that the Powers that Be had a plan for her. Merlyn took her to the island of Avalon, where the priestesses declared that the Powers desired her to be the immortal Slayer. She would take care of the demons and Apocalypses that the regular Slayer wouldn't be able to. However, they couldn't just grant her immortal life, she would have to become a vampire. "The Slayer decided to become this Assassin, so Merlyn took her back to the Master, who turned her. However, before he could really claim her, the Powers gave her a soul, and the ability to travel safely in sunlight, and freedom to cross thresholds. Except that she no longer had breath, heartbeat, and needed blood to live, the Slayer had barely changed. Except she was empty inside. When her sister had been killed, her life had ended, she never felt, never took any joy in life. She lived throughout the ages this way, fighting whatever the Powers told her to fight. She once had to kill a Slayer under the guise of a vampire. During the 17th and 18th centuries she fell in with Anyanka and Halfrek, helping them exact vengeance. She punished those men that raped, whether or not their victims wished for justice. Which reminds me," Genevieve paused to whack Spike's head. "Bad William. I thought you would know better." "Wasn't that a little easy, considering what I did?" "No, I know the conditions in effect at the time. Any way. The Assassin lived an empty life, devoid of any emotion. The Watcher's Council tried to control her every century or so, but as the Council was formed at least 200 years after her "death" they were unsuccessful. Finally in 1860 she had settled near Oxford. One of her neighbors had a grandson who came to see her every summer for hols. This boy didn't like his Grand mum, so he would visit the Assassin, much to her annoyance. However she soon grew fond of the boy and told him stories, took for picnics and all that sappy crap. You see, the boy's Grand mum didn't like him much, so the Assassin became a replacement Grand mum to him, despite the physical closeness in age. Now one day, when the boy was 26, in 1880, he wrote to her to say he was in love, and he wanted her to visit. He wrote to her every week. The Assassin decided to go to London to see him. The second night in the city she still hadn't met with the boy, but she did meet with Halfrek. Halfrek said that some poor lad had fallen in love with her, and she had broken his heart. The Assassin was clever, and realized that Hallie was the Cecily that the boy had written to her about. She ran about, knowing that the boy was likely to do something drastic if his heart was broken. She finally saw a lady vamp dragging a body to a graveyard with the help of two other vamps. Recognizing them as members of her line, she followed them. As they buried their victim, the Assassin realized it was the boy. And the only reason to bury a body in London was if they had been turned. So the Assassin watched to grave all day and into the night. About the time when the fledgling would awake, his sire still hadn't returned. He began to awake, so the Assassin decided to do something. She knew that the sire was mad, and the boy would need a mentor, so as he climbed out of the grave she slit her wrist and gave it to him to drink from, making her his second sire. Before he could figure out who she was, the Assassin fled back to Oxford as his sire arrived with a proper meal. "A few months later the Assassin was in her home. She'd gotten word from the papers about the death of her "son," but she knew the truth. One night a visitor came. It was the boy. He was invited in, and immediately threatened to kill the Assassin. She revealed herself as a vampire, much more stronger than any he'd ever met. She explained who she was, and why she could travel in the sun. Then she told him about the second sire. A second sire provides some guidance, and can help the childe. If the first sire is killed, they take over the duties. Anyway, she accompanied him back to the others, and they parted ways. They visited each other every few years, attending the theatre, talking, and getting away from his sire mostly. She always did whatever she could to help him. The last time she saw him was about five years ago, when she helped him escape from an angry mob in Prague. This is the end of my story, the tale of the Fallen Slayer. The only thing missing is a happy ever after." The Scoobies just stared at her and Spike. "Well, that does answer my questions." Giles finally said. 


End file.
